Activity Report
Year 2003-2004

Hind Swaraj Shivirs (camps) and workshops

• Three-days in Simultala, Bihar – Host organization: Gram Bharati, about 150 participants from various Gram Sabhas participated. This is one of the area dominated by Naxalites. The purpose of the shivir was to understand from Gandhian prospective the remedies to situations that produce Naxalism and to strengthen Shanti Sena.

• One-day meeting each in Patna and Muzaffarpur (Bihar). Patna Meeting was organized by Bihar state Sarvodaya Mandal, attended by 40 odd representatives from various parts of Bihar . Many of them sent in their request for full three to four day shivir in their area.

• Muzaffarpur meeting was organized in the University Campus. Ten professors and teachers volunteered to work for Shanti Sena and Hind Swaraj Centenary.

• One meeting on Hind Swaraj with Tibetan youth on 26 th March in Dharamshala. There has been an ongoing dialogue with Tibetan youths on Hind Swaraj.

• Three day Hind Swaraj Study camp was organized at Indore , Madhya Pradesh at Kasturba Gram on 26-29 June, 2003. About 90 Professors and teachers participated in this camp.

• A public programme to commemorate Birth of Satyagraha (1906) against the back drop of 9/11-2001 which unleashed a destabilizing cycle of violence and counter-violence - titled 9/11 vs 9/11: Revelation A Century Apart was held in collaboration with the Rotary Club, Delhi South Dist, which met all its major expenses. Late Shri Nirmal Verma, Saeed Naqvi and Ms Madhu Kishwar were on the panel of discussants. Rajiv Vora moderated the program. He was interviewed by the NDTV on the same issue the same evening. The program was held in the auditorium of Lok Kala Manch.

Shanti Sena or Nonviolent Peaceforce

• Hundred and fifty men and women, with grassroots experience of social work enlisted for a Shanti Sainik training. They were all participants in three Hind Swaraj workshops conducted this year.

• Swarajpeeth is making a special effort to raise Shanti Sena from among Muslims. A number of Muslim community leaders were found supportive of the idea. Shri Rajiv Vora and Dr. Omkar Mittal, who had earlier worked among Muslims of Saharanpur, toured the area, met important community leaders, held meetings. Met with the Head of Majahir-Uloom – the second most important center of Islamic learning, after Darul Uloom. Most important was enlisting of support of Maulana Anjar Shah Kasmiri, the VC of Darul-Uloom, Deoband.

• The places covered include Saharanpur , Rampur , Bijnor, Nagina, Hapur, Meerut , Moradabad , Bareli , Deoband, Shamli, Najibabad, Muzaffarnagar, Aligarh and Jalaun – and Delhi.

• Till end of August 2004 intensive process of dialogue on nonviolence and conflict resolution was carried out so that the Shanti Sena can be launched on the historic day of 11 th September, the Birth day of Satyagraha (Johannesburg, South Africa) in the modern age.

Delhi group on Communal Harmony

• Delhi group met four times, twice at the Observer Research Foundation. The group's main concern is to work-out a post-Gandhi Gandhian position on communal co-existence. The question therefore of Indian nationalism in terms of Bhartiyata is being examined. The group is working towards bringing out a position paper, a comprehensive document on Mahatma Gandhi's dialogue on communal question as it is related with the present time. The Group included social scientist Prof. D.L Sheth; Gyan Peeth awarded writer Late Shri Nirmal Verma, Sociologist Prof. Partho Mukherjee; Scholar of ancient Indian thought and Chairman of Observer Research Foundation, Shri Rishi Kumar Mishra; Journalist Shri Rambahadur Rai; Sanskrit scholar Dr. Surabhi Sheth; and, Business consultant Shri Salil Bhandari, Dr Neeru Vora and Rajiv Vora of Swarajpeeth

• Delhi Group of Swarajpeeth is working on developing a comprehensive Gandhian perspective on the question of communal co-living.